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At least 57 migrants die in shipwreck off Libyan coast: UN

Reuters
27 Jul 2021 09:37:13 | Update: 27 Jul 2021 09:37:13

A crew member of the German NGO migrant rescue ship Sea-Watch 3 uses binoculars to keep watch for migrant boats at sunset in the search and rescue zone in international waters off the coast of Libya, in the western Mediterranean Sea, July 26, 2021. — Reuters Photo

At least 57 people drowned on Monday after a boat capsized off the Libyan coast near Khums, the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean, the UN's International Organization for Migration said.

"According to survivors brought to shore by fishermen and the coast guard, at least 20 women and two children were among those who drowned," International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokeswoman Safa Msehli said in a tweet.

Migrant boat departures to Italy and other parts of Europe from Libya and Tunisia have increased in recent months with better weather. Hundreds of thousands have made the perilous crossing in the last years, many fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.